Learn about little-known aspects of the history of city planning in Chicago, drawing on the breadth and depth of resources available through the Chicago Collections Consortium. Chicago and city planning have a long history, one that extends well beyond Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett’s 1909 Plan of Chicago. In a wide-ranging talk, historian Brad Hunt, co-author of Planning Chicago (American Planning Association, 2013), will explore lesser-known planning events from the city’s past, including utopian visions to remake the city, bold plans to save downtown, citizen-led ideas to revive neighborhoods, and more recent responses to address the city’s deep divides. Hunt will illustrate his presentation with archival material available through EXPLORE Chicago Collections, a new portal created by libraries and museums across Chicagoland. Join us for stories about Chicago’s planning past that will surprise and enlighten.

D. Bradford Hunt is Vice President for Research and Academic Programs at the Newberry. His history of the Chicago Housing Authority, Blueprint for Disaster: The Unraveling of Chicago Public Housing, won the Lewis Mumford Prize from the Society of American City and Regional Planning History (SACRPH) for the best book in North American Planning History in 2008-09. He also co-authored, with Jon B. DeVries, Planning Chicago, which examines urban planning initiatives in Chicago since the 1950s. He will serve as president of SACRPH in 2018-19. Previously, he was vice provost and dean, as well as professor of social science and history, at Roosevelt University. He received his PhD in history from the University of California, Berkeley, and his bachelor’s degree from Williams College.